Two Cities - 1969 - West End Articles Page 8

Beginning February 18, the Orchestre National de Lyon, “probably the most refined ensemble of the world” (The Guardian),  tours the United States for the first time since 2003, playing concerts with music director Leonard Slatkin on a six-city tour.  The Orchestra performs in renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and at the University of Georgia, Wake Forest University, and others. Special guest artists at Carnegie Hall include two of classical music's most treasured American voices, soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Thomas Hampson.  The New York program will feature debut performances of Guillaume Connesson's Celephaïs and a new Ravel arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov's Antar with text by Amin Maalouf.

The York Theatre Company, dedicated to the development of new musicals and the preservation of musical gems from the past, has announced the cast of the 1972 musical Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill: A Musical Voyage, music by Kurt Weill - text and format by Gene Lerner, lyrics by Maxwell Anderson, Marc Blitzstein, Bertolt Brecht, Jacques Deval, Michael Feingold, Ira Gershwin, Paul Green, Langston Hughes, Alan Jay Lerner, Ogden Nash, George Tabori, and Arnold Weinstein - the second of three shows in the Winter 2017 Musicals in Mufti Series.

The Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra (VAMSO) will embark on a thrilling musical journey with Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, February 19, 2017, 2pm at the Orpheum Theatre.

WaterTower Theatre today announced details for the third annual WOMEN IN THEATRE panel discussion.  The event is presented under the auspices of Women of WaterTower Theatre (WOW!) and it is chaired by Jennifer Martinez.  This is the third panel in the series, having already explored the unique perspective of prominent female directors and actors, 2017 will feature The Designers, and it will be held on Monday, February 6, 2017 from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm (with a post-lecture reception in the lobby with the artists). The event will be held in the Canterbury Family Main Stage at the Addison Theatre Centre.  The lecture will be moderated by Dallas arts journalist Lauren Smart, and features Leann Burns, Clare Floyd DeVries, Sylvia Fuhrken Marrs, and Frida Espinosa-Muller.

The Old Globe today announced the complete cast and creative team for its revival of Steve Martin's clever and crowd-pleasing comedy hit Picasso at the Lapin Agile.

Novato Theater Company opens 2017 with Sir Peter Shaffer's award-winning comedy, Lettice and Lovage.  The author of Equus and Amadeus plunges into droll comedy about two women who could not be more opposite.  The play is directed by Renee Mandel-Sher and produced by Mark Clark.  It runs February 3-19 at the NTC Playhouse, 5420 Nave Drive in Novato.

The Interlochen Arts Academy and New York Philharmonic are pleased to announce a partnership that will launch in January. Four New York Philharmonic musicians, all Interlochen alumni, will travel to the school's Michigan campus for two intensive weeks of educational activities, and select students will travel to New York to attend a Philharmonic rehearsal and concert, and give a chamber concert at Lincoln Center's Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse (January 28, 2017).

Since November 8th, LGBTQ citizens have come to fear a surge in hate crimes after reports of homophobic attacks, some verbal, some physical. Sadly, the potential is evident. But in 1958, that potential was a frightening certainty, especially in Midwestern cities where homosexuals were considered 'perverts' and 'degenerates' and law officers ignored assaults on them - law officers not unlike the fictitious Sheriff Pat Brundy, who quickly pronounced the death of an old, gay, black man as suicide. No investigation. Case closed. In 'Midland Club,' a new murder mystery by Mark Spano, one man refuses to believe Puce Bordeaux's death was suicide, despite Sheriff Brundy's assertion. That man is Rich St. Pierre, a member of the wealthy, white First Family of the town who was locked up, along with Puce, after a raid on a dive where the town's otherwise hidden homosexuals hung out. He's certain that Puce, the quiet, genteel 'Negro' who served as a waiter in the exclusive Midland Club for decades, was killed. He's certain that the subsequent death of Puce's priest, Monsignor Corliss, was murder. Ostracized by his influential family, Rich St. Pierre also knows that his own life will be in grave danger if he attempts to prove his assumptions by unraveling the town's secrets, lies, and corruption. 'I set this book in the neighborhood of my childhood,' said Spano, a gay man who knew life before the Stonewall riots of 1969. 'I came of age in the era of gay liberation. My story is a glimpse back at how it used to be.' Published by Thunderfoot Press, Spano's 120-page book is a quick page-turner that suddenly stops the reader in his or her tracks with such moments as art dealer and self-described 'queen' Luther Beaumont's drunken rant on human instincts: 'We were taught that the only two instincts we humans have are self-preservation and species preservation. 'That is not so. There are more than those. The third instinct is just as primitive but has somehow been ignored by all these research people as being part of the human creature. It's the preservation by the tribe of those things beautiful about the tribe. That's why we're decorators and designers and art dealers. While the rest of the world is cranking out babies like there's no tomorrow, queers are at home saving what's beautiful in the world so there'll be something to look at or listen to tomorrow.' 'Midland Club' has all the elements of a good mystery: vibrant characters, a familiar setting, and a plot in which the solution to the mystery is ultimately revealed. Beyond a good mystery, it also addresses the pain of one gay man, alone in a town that despises him. And if the reader is paying attention, that pain foreshadows the conclusion. Review copies of 'Midland Club' are available by contacting Publicist Kim Weiss at Blueplate PR: blueplatepr@gmail.com. Paperback and Kindle editions are available for purchase on Amazon. About The Author: Mark Spano is the author of five works of fiction and a memoir. As a filmmaker, his work includes The Quality of Light: A Biography of Claude Howell and the definitive documentary on Sicily, 'Reimagining Sicily.' He holds advanced degrees from Marymount University of Virginia and the American University in Washington, D.C., and now resides in rural Orange County, North Carolina. (Headshot available upon request.)

On Friday, December 9, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater debuted Hope Boykin's r-Evolution, Dream., inspired by the sermons and speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. Nicholas Ashe, Jasmine Guy, Khalil Kain, Bevy Smith, Phylicia Rashad, Billy Porter and Joe Morton were in attendance for the world premiere, which will be performed during the five-week holiday season.

On the heels of a highly successful multi-city tour and run on Broadway, the world's best-selling touring magic show, THE ILLUSIONISTS - LIVE FROM BROADWAY (www.theillusionistslive.com), will play the Marcus Center in Milwaukee on February 14-19 as part of its current North American tour to more than 50 cities.

The Citizens Theatre today announces a new production of Graham Greene's Travels With My Aunt, a Brexit-inspired production from the National Theatre and shows by top theatre companies Cheek by Jowl and Kneehigh in their season which runs from January - June 2017.

This September, Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

This September, Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Leaders of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation today celebrated the expansion of Ailey's permanent home, The Joan Weill Center for Dance, with a ceremonial roof-breaking to mark the company's upward growth.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center Announces Filmmaker Talks at the 54th New York Film Festival (September 30 – October 16). On Cinema and Directors Dialogues, the annual series of intimate filmmaker conversations that take place at the festival, are presented by HBO®.

I had never even heard of the 1951 Lerner and Loewe musical PAINT YOUR WAGON when the Ordway announced it as part of their season. I guess that's not too surprising; it ran for less than a year on Broadway and has never been revived. The story was significantly rewritten for the 1969 movie adaptation starring Clint Eastwood, which also included a few new songs. Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre scrapped both the original and revised book (they're a little bit racist, and sexist) to write a new story set in the Gold Rush era of California, making it more reflective of the many diverse cultures that came together to build the great American West. This production has moved to the Ordway for two weeks, with a few local additions to the cast. This thrilling story of the beginnings of the American West with a beautifully diverse cast has rescued this gorgeous Western and Mexican influenced score from the place where problematic old musicals go to die.

The Old Globe presents the world premiere of Steve Martin's new play METEOR SHOWER, an adult comedy, marking his welcome return to the Globe following the great success of Bright Star. It will be directed by Gordon Edelstein in a co-production with Long Wharf Theatre, where Edelstein serves as Artistic Director (and no, he is not related to Barry).

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) announces the 2016 Round 4 Cycle A recipients of the Leadership U[niversity]-Continuing Ed program.

A gripping tragedy of love that transcends all, Elton John and Tim Rice's AIDA follows a courageous Nubian princess as she is forced to choose between passion and allegiance.  This poignant musical features HAMILTON's own Emmy Raver-Lampman as Aida and Broadway's Mark Evans as Radames.

The Old Globe today announced the complete cast and creative team of the world premiere of Steve Martin's new play METEOR SHOWER, an adult comedy, marking his welcome return to the Globe following the great success of Bright Star.

The Kennedy Center Honors announced today that its honorees for 2016 will be Argentine pianist Martha Argerich, rock band the Eagles, screen and stage actor Al Pacino, gospel and blues singer Mavis Staples and musician James Taylor.

From Charles Dickens' classic novel A Tale of Two Cities stems the musical, Two Cities. The show opened in London's West End in February 1969 where it received a mixed reception from the critics. However, many who watched the production fed back positive comments which increased the interest and continued to get people through the door. Sadly though, Two Cities had already been given its closing notice.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, is pleased to announce the recipients of the latest round of Global Connections. Supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Global Connections encourages reciprocity and cultural exchange through two programs: ON the ROAD grants to foster new relationships with international colleagues; and IN the LAB grants to further pre-existing international collaborations. Now in its fifth year, the Global Connections program awarded a total of $70,000 to ten projects in this year's cycle, with over $700,000 awarded to date.

From June 9 - 19, 2016, Houston Ballet will conclude its 2015-16 season with the world premiere of artistic director Stanton Welch's Giselle. The world premiere of Giselle is made possible through the generosity of longtime Houston Ballet supporter and trustee Lynn Wyatt. This production will showcase the company's strength and depth of talent, while staying true to the original story of love, betrayal, and redemption, set in the Romantic era. The ballet is set to the famous score by Adolphe Adam and designed by renowned Italian designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno, who will create the scenery and costumes for the production.

The second edition of Ocean Solutions, Earth Solutions, published by Esri, takes a deep dive into the science of protecting oceans and coastlines, with a special emphasis on the role that geographic information system (GIS) technology plays in this quest.